Festive Bells
by DarkTeddiursa
Summary: A Christmas Keroro Gunso special! KururuXOC, OCXOC, OCXGiroro and KeruruXGeruru! Horuru is my character. Geruru, Keruru, Deruru and Sekiki belong to ShadowMunchlax. Everything else belongs to the makers of KG.
1. The Keruru Platoon's Unexpected Guests

Horuru gave a large yawn as she awoke in her and Sekiki's bedroom on board the Keruru Platoon's ship. She was still quite tired but she had to awake early everyday to cook breakfast and wake up the other team members. She stared around the dark grey and black room, her and Sekiki's colour choice. They had first gone with purple but then dark grey and black seemed to stick since both of them were quite gothic. On the dark grey wall paper, The two had drawn in red felt tip pen many skulls with cross-bones. That was their favourite symbol. Every keronian had a symbol which was displayed on the keronian's stomach and hat. Since Horuru's symbol was a cross-bone and Sekiki's was a skull, the two had combined their symbols into a skull and cross-bones like you see on pirate ships. There were many posters on the wall, most of them drawn by Horuru and Sekiki. There was also a desk which had Horuru's laptop on it. As intelligence of the Keruru Platoon, it was Horuru's job to take care of all computer-related tasks. On top of that, she was also the Keruru's platoons cook. Her days were mostly took up with platoon meetings, hacking into various computers and cooking to feed the platoon. There was a groan from beside Horuru. She turned over to see Sekiki lying next to her. Originally, Sekiki and Horuru had slept in separate beds. However, Keruru had moved Sekiki's bed to the guest room for any guests who wished to come. Plus, it was much easier that the two slept together since Sekiki, being the youngest of the platoon, was constantly having nightmares. Now she slept with her 'security blanket' (aka Horuru) she had less nightmares. Horuru was the second youngest in the platoon. She soon expected that one day, her tadpole tail would completely disappear and she would become an adult keronian like Keruru, Geruru and Deruru. She and Sekiki had been friends since the two were only one or two years old. Reason for this was because Sekiki's uncle, Giroro had been a child-hood friend of Horuru's father, Dororo, and the two had also been put into the same platoon later on. Horuru looked at Sekiki, who was so deep in sleep she didn't have the heart to wake her just yet. Getting up, she turned to the calendar. Today was December 5. Only 20 more days until, what the pekoponians called as, Christmas. Despite the fact this holiday hadn't been made by the Keronians, Horuru's family had celebrated it because Dororo had celebrated it a lot when he was on pekopon so the holiday of Christmas had spread to the planet Keron as well so that now, most Keronians celebrated it. Horuru sighed as she realised she would have to get presents for her comrades. It was not because she didn't WANT to give them presents… it was because she didn't know what TO give them. Well, she didn't know what to give to her leader Keruru but she knew what to give the others: A katana for Geruru, a gun for Deruru and a soft toy for Sekiki. She didn't know about Keruru. Possibly a video game of such. Horuru shook her head, too tired to think of these things now. She picked up her hat. All keronians had to wear a hat with their symbol on it. Horuru's was a black one which had kitty ears on it and a red cross-bones. It was slightly ripped but Horuru didn't mind. She looked out the window of her bedroom and stared into space. "Space is so beautiful…" Horuru sighed dreamily. She decided to make breakfast and walked out of her room to the spaceship's kitchen. She started making scrambled eggs, five bowls, one for each platoon member. She also made waffles for herself, Sekiki and Keruru and got an orange for herself. She set these meals out in an orderly way and smiled. One job done… however, her train of thought was interrupted by the voice of the ship's computer.  
"SPACE SHIP NEARBY! SPACE SHIP NEARBY!" the computer droned. It was too loud so it shouldn't have awoken Keruru, Deruru, Geruru or Sekiki. She walked towards ship's computer room and spoke into the speaker.  
"This is Corporal Horuru of the Keruru Platoon. Who is this?" Horuru spoke into the speaker. She recognised the ship as a keronian ship so the aliens who approached them should be friendly since they came from the same planet. She waited a few minutes before a familiar face appeared on the screen. Horuru found herself staring into the glasses of a familiar yellow keron, Sergeant Major Kururu. Horuru betted she was blushing… she had always had a crush on Kururu.  
"Kururu!" Horuru stared. Why was Sergeant Major Kururu of the Keroro platoon here? She then noticed that there were four more keronians with him. But why were the Keroro Platoon HERE? "Erm… hey?" she looked around. She heard a laugh from behind Kururu. It was Giroro, obviously. Horuru slanted her green eyes, "What are you guys doing here?" Were they checking up on them to see how well they were doing?  
"Horuru!" Horuru heard her father, Dororo and watched as she pushed past Kururu to look closer at the screen. "You look well! How are you?"  
"I'm fine, dad…" Horuru muttered. This was bad… very bad… Keruru was still deciding which planet to invade. "Like I asked before, why are you guys here?"  
"Don't you know? It's Christmas in 20 days! We came here to spend the holidays with you!" Dororo said, smiling… well… Horuru guessed he was smiling… it was hard to tell with his mask on. Horuru could have collapsed with relief. So they weren't checking up on them. Thank all lords. "Mind if we come on board?"  
"Not at all…" Horuru smiled.  
"Where are the rest of your platoon?" Giroro asked.  
"Still asleep… I'm the first one awake usually…" Horuru explained, "Come on board. Just don't touch anything while I go wake them up." She turned of the screen and walked out of the computer room. She went to wake up Sekiki as she normally did. As she walked to her room, she wondered whether she should prepare some more scrambled eggs. When she opened the door, she found Sekiki was now wet and wearing a bath robe.  
"Morning, Horuru-chan," Sekiki smiled. It was obvious that she had just had a shower.  
"Morning. Guess what?" A Cheshire-cat grin spread over Horuru's face as she started to speak. A curious look appeared in Sekiki's hazel eyes.  
"What is it?"  
"Guess whose came to celebrate Christmas with us!" Horuru grinned even more widely. There was a pause. Then it all clicked in Sekiki's head.  
"The Keroro Platoon is HERE!?" Sekiki almost squealed like a fan girlish person. The Keroro Platoon was legendary to Keron but especially the Keruru Platoon. "I got to get ready."  
"Yeah. I'll go wake up Keruru and co.," Horuru said before rushing off to Keruru, Geruru and Deruru's room. When she got there, she opened the door to find that all three were still sleeping. Horuru took a deep breath… then…. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAKE UUUP!" she screamed as loud as she could. The three older keronians woke up at the same time.  
"Ow… what was that for, Horu-chan?" Sekiki's older brother, Deruru grumbled. He stared at Horuru with sleepy eyes.  
"Dudes, wake up! The Keroro Platoon has come over to stay for Christmas," Horuru explained quickly.  
"They never!" Horuru heard her leader, Keruru's voice come from her bed.  
"They have!"  
Keruru, Deruru and Geruru exchanged glances before getting up quickly and putting their hats on. Horuru heard the sound of the Keroro Platoon's ship connecting to theirs'.  
"We better get to the ship's entrance to greet them," Horuru muttered before running to find Sekiki who was now wearing her hat and looked a bit more awake. After tidying up their room quickly they legged it to the ship's entrance where Keruru, Deruru and Geruru were already waiting. Geruru was falling asleep standing up while Keruru leaned her tired head on his shoulder. Deruru just took many large yawns. Sekiki giggled at her comrades as she saw then so tired. Horuru felt very sorry for them. Soon, the entrance opened to reveal the Keroro Platoon in all their glory. Sergeant Keroro stood at the front, waving lazily as he announced his presence to everyone else. Giroro, who was on Keroro's left, sweat dropped but managed a grin. Dororo was behind Giroro, looking shyly around at the others. On Keroro's right, Tamama stood, smiling cutely. He may have become an adult a few years ago, but he was still the bouncing tadpole he had been on Pekopon. Kururu was behind him, chuckling darkly to himself.  
"Uncle Giroro!" Sekiki yelled, running to hug her beloved Uncle. Giroro looked taken aback by his niece's embrace but hugged her back. Deruru merely approached his Uncle and gave a nod at him. Horuru was so busy watching them she didn't notice Dororo coming forward and given her a warm hug.  
"DAD!" Horuru flailed with embarrassment but she quite happy to see him and returned the hug. In the corner of her eye, she noticed Geruru approach them and give a nod at Dororo.  
"Hello, Dororo-sensei," Geruru bowed. Horuru smiled. She remembered that Dororo had tutored Geruru about ninja techniques a while back.  
"And you must be Keruru, leader of this platoon!" Horuru heard the voice of the loud Keroro. She stopped hugging her father and watched as Keruru stared up with warm and loving lilac eyes at her hero. They had met once or twice but never had been truly introduced.  
"Yes, yes! I AM!" Keruru said as she nodded, excitement sparking in her eyes. Horuru took her eyes off her leader and paid attention to Kururu who stood by himself. None of the Keruru platoon had greeted him warmly. Even Tamama was talking warmly to Keruru who paid both of them great heed. She was so deep in thought she didn't notice that Kururu had approached her.  
"Hey, Horuru-senpai! Ku ku ku~!" Kururu gave a wide grin. Horuru looked around her, a bit embarrassed. Luckily, everyone was already in deep conversation with someone else so they didn't notice the two were talking.  
"Erm… Yo?" Horuru muttered. She liked Kururu… but she wasn't stupid. Kururu could be a nasty piece of work when he wanted. "How's have you been?"  
"Fine I guess. But recently it's been very boring… Ku ku ku~!" Kururu replied. Horuru nodded. She would have said something in return had Keruru not interrupted.  
"Wait a minute!" Keruru shouted, "Where is everyone going to sleep?" There was a silence.  
"Well, we have three rooms. My guess is that 5 people should sleep in one room, 3 in another room and two in the last room," Deruru explained.  
"Maybe we should all have different roommates than usual! That way, we can get to know each other more!" Keruru said.  
"What a great idea!" Keroro applauded. "We'll leave it up to you guys to decide who sleeps where."

A few minutes later, the Keruru platoon were in the meeting room, sorting things out while the Keroro platoon were in the kitchen eating. "Alright, gang! I have some ideas! Since they are related, Sekiki, Deruru and Giroro can all sleep in mine, Deruru and Geruru's room," Keruru said. Everyone nodded.  
"I'd like to make a request. Can I sleep in the same room as Dororo-sensei?" Geruru asked. Dororo had been Geruru's child hood hero before he had started teaching him and yet Geruru still worshipped him. Keruru nodded.  
"You, Dororo, me, Keroro and…" she paused for a moment, "Tamama will sleep in the spare room." There was an odd smile on her face.  
"W-wait, guys! What about me?" Horuru said shakily. Keruru started laughing like crazy and even Sekiki gave a little giggle. Horuru looked quite confused. "What?" she asked.  
"Isn't it obvious?" Keruru said. Horuru blinked for a moment. Then it started to all click.  
"Oh no… Guys… No," Horuru grumbled.  
"Why not? We thought you would like the idea! I mean, I fitted out the entire sleeping plans just for our own benefit," Keruru wore a sad face. "And since you like Kururu. Plus, it means you'll get to stay in your own room… alone… with Kuru-" Keruru was cut short with Deruru slapping her face.  
"Keruru! Don't be so mean!" Deruru growled. Horuru blinked at Deruru.  
"Okay, okay! If you want Horuru, I will change the sleeping plans to your liking," Keruru sighed. Horuru thought about it… then shook her head. The reason for this was because she knew someone else would have to sleep with Kururu… and she felt quite sorry for said person.  
"No… sorry Keruru… I didn't mean to be so unreasonable. I'll go along with your sleeping plans," Horuru muttered. Keruru's face lightened up.  
"THANK YOU, HORURU-CHAN!" Keruru gave Horuru a hug. Horuru then realised why Keruru had really wanted her to say yes to her plan: she had wanted to sleep in the same room with both Keroro and Geruru and if Horuru had changed the plans, it was mostly likely she wouldn't be able to. Sekiki also muttered thank you and Horuru guessed it was because she wanted to spend the night with her uncle. As the members of the Keruru Platoon were dismissed and left the meeting room, Horuru and Deruru were the left inside.  
"Horuru, can I have a word?" Deruru asked.  
"Sure," Horuru muttered. She looked at the red keronian, analysing how much he looked like his Uncle.  
"You know, if you're too worried or frightened to sleep in the same room as Kururu alone, then I would be happy to change seating plans with you. It wouldn't disrupt any other seating plans and I'm sure you would be grateful. You don't have to go through with this if you don't want to just because Keruru wants you to," Deruru said, sweetly. Horuru smiled, not believing how nice he was being. She was about to accept when she had a horrible image in her mind… of poor Deruru being alone in the dark with Kururu grinning at him. And then one thing lead to another and Horuru shivered as the images played in her mind.  
"Thanks… but don't worry. I don't mind. Plus, I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do with your uncle and such," Horuru smiled, putting on her brave face. Deruru looked a bit disappointed at first but smiled.  
"Yeah," he grinned as Horuru got up to walk to the door, "But are you sure?"  
"Positive," Horuru turned to grin at him and then exited them room, closing the door behind her… but as she did, her knees started shaking rapidly… so much, she was sure they would break to bits.


	2. The Trouble With Icing

Horuru was in the kitchen, making biscuits for the members of her platoon. She was also making them for the party… yes, a party. It had been Keruru's idea to invite some friends and even more relatives to a big Christmas party and Horuru was in-charge of refreshments. She had made many different shaped biscuits but had made special ones for her platoon members: a purple star for Keruru, a greatly decorated Christmas tree for Deruru, a chocolate snowflake for Geruru and a bell decorated with white icing for Sekiki. They looked quite pretty and she was proud of her 'food art'. She had done a lot of things today, including ordering and making presents. She had ordered a katana for Geruru like before but had changed her idea for Deruru. She wanted to find a way to thank him for how nice he had been this morning and plus she knew that everyone else would get him a weapon so she decided to be original and give him a video game. As for Keruru and Sekiki, she decided to make them special stuffed toys that pokemon, a series of creatures from pekopon video games that her, Sekiki and Keruru were fans of. She had ordered a weapon for Giroro, made a special model for Dororo, got an ice cream maker for Tamama and some gunpla for Keroro. She didn't know what to get for Kururu… and right now, she didn't want to think about him. There was a time that Horuru would have thought about Kururu every moment of her life… but now, she was so scared, she didn't want to think. Throughout the whole day, Deruru had continually asked if she was okay. Horuru wanted to yell NO at him but had just put on a brave face and said she was fine. She wasn't… every moment of her life was filled with terror as her heart beat at five beats per second. She shook her head, trying to forget. She decided to start on the cupcakes. Keruru had made a list of all the food she wanted for the party. Horuru had already made the punch, got some drinks and Doritos and made the biscuits. The only things left were Christmas cake, Christmas pudding, mince pies and cupcakes. As she got the ingredients ready, she felt as if she was being watched… but she shrugged it off as her just being paranoid and got to work. However, as she turned to get some thing, she saw Kururu standing in the doorway, staring at her. She felt herself go numb. "H-how long have you been standing there, Kururu-sama?" Horuru stammered.  
"Since you started making the cupcakes," Kururu said, grinning widely. There was a moment of awkward silence.  
"Wanna help out?" Horuru asked casually.  
"Sure," Kururu muttered and came over and started helping her make them.  
"Why were you spying on me?" Horuru asked she got the thing she needed.  
"I wasn't spying. I was just watching and waiting for you to notice I was there. Ku ku ku~!"  
"Whatever, dude…" Horuru grumbled. They worked in silence for a few moments. When she put the cupcakes into the oven, she sat down and waited. Kururu did too but Horuru noticed that he kept on staring at her. Horuru tried not too look at him.  
"Not in a talkative mood, eh? Ku ku ku~!" Kururu said, grinning.  
"I'm just tired," Horuru muttered, giving a fake yawn.  
"Yeah, right. Something's bugging you… you can tell me, ku ku ku~!" Kururu's wide smirk was most untrusting. It really did intimidate Horuru as she sat staring at him. Luckily, the timer she had put on the oven gave a beep and she rushed away from the table to get the cupcakes out. As she took them out and put them on the counter, Kururu continued staring at her, as if waiting for her to say something. Horuru tried to completely ignore him which did not prove to be an easy task. It only got weirder. She started to put some icing on the cupcakes. She then got the red icing out to put on top of the green… when it exploded everywhere. It went over the counter, the cupcakes and over Horuru too.  
"Oh dear," Kururu said, walking up to Horuru.  
"Don't worry, I've got it," Horuru sighed as she cleaned up the counter and herself. "There."  
"There is still some on your face," Kururu said, grinning.  
"Where?" Horuru asked.  
"Let me get it," Kururu went up to her, looked at her… then licked the last bit of icing off of her cheek. There was a moment of silence…  
"WHAT THE FUCK, MAN!? There was seriously no reason to do that! You could have just TOLD me and I would have gotten it off," Horuru had to stop herself from yelling it too loud but how could she? Her cheeks were burning and her heart was beating like crazy. Kururu merely chuckled to himself at how she got so worked up. She sweat dropped, "Dude, did you even listen to what I just said?" The clothe ears of her hat fell over her face. Kururu grinned before walking off and out of the kitchen. Horuru took this chance to run to the bathroom and started splashing water on her cheek. As she did, she got the feeling she was being watched. "I don't appreciate being spied on," Horuru grumbled. There was a sigh and she turned round to find it was Deruru. "Deruru-san," Horuru's face softened.  
"Hey, are you okay? And why are you washing your face?" Deruru asked.  
"I got some icing on my face and went to wash it off," Horuru muttered. It wasn't a complete lie.  
"But I saw you in the hall way a few second ago and you didn't have any icing on your face," Deruru said.  
"You must have not been looking close enough! I better go!" Horuru said before running off. She knew that her face must be as red as Deruru's which made it even worse. It was going to be a long day.


	3. Good night, Kururu Senpai

Horuru was never really self-conscious about her appearance… until she looked into the bathroom mirror and saw how much like a dumb little kid she looked. Her cat-eared hat wasn't helping either… "I look like a god damn eight year old," she muttered bitterly. Heck, even Sekiki looked older than her and in real life, it was Horuru who was the oldest out of the two of them. Maybe it was due to Sekiki's attitude… or something like that. It was night and she was getting ready for bed. After staring at herself in the mirror, she turned away and walked up to her bedroom. Kururu was sitting on the floor with his laptop on the mattress Horuru had prepared for them. His glasses were still on which made Horuru frown. "Dude, do you ever take your glasses off?" she asked.  
"Yes," Kururu muttered, not looking up, "When I go to sleep. But I'm not going to sleep yet."  
"Hmmm…" Horuru switched off the lights, walked over to her bed and flopped onto it. She pulled the covers up to her close and muttered "Good night." Kururu gave a grunt in reply and Horuru fell straight to sleep. She started having a scary nightmare. Horrible monsters were chasing her through a dark place. "SOMEBODY HELP ME!" Horuru screamed. Nobody came to her aid… and then she fell… down, down into a pit of flames…  
"HORURU!"

Horuru woke up. She found herself with sweat all over her face. She gasped for air… She turned to see Kururu staring at her.  
"Sorry… did I wake you?" Horuru muttered. Kururu shook his head.  
"I haven't yet got to sleep," he grumbled. He stared straight into Horuru's eyes, "You had a nightmare, didn't you?"  
"Me? No. I'm perfectly f-" before Horuru could speak, Kururu got up and walked over to her bed, lying down into it. Horuru frowned, "What are you doing?"  
"You had a nightmare… don't you kids usually go into a adults bed when having nightmares?" Kururu muttered.  
"I am NOT a kid!" Horuru growled, feeling patronized. Kururu chuckled, "Yeah, right. Ku ku ku~!" he pointed at Horuru's tadpole tail. Horuru blushed a purple colour. "Don't worry. I'll just sleep with you to make sure you don't have anymore nightmare." Kururu sounded… oddly serious. It was as if he actually cared about Horuru. As Horuru lay down, grunting something, she noticed Kururu take off his glasses… to reveal a pair of golden-brown eyes. He looked a bit strange without his glasses… but handsome. Horuru blushed. Kururu didn't seem to notice. For the first few moments, they lay in silence. "This brings back memories," Kururu muttered.  
"How?" Horuru asked.  
"Don't you remember?" Kururu asked, "When you were a little kid, you had nightmares frequently and always came to me instead of your parents."  
"Hmmm… now that you mention it, I do remember something like that," Horuru muttered. Wait, did that mean she had slept with Kururu alone before?  
"You were so tiny but you were better company than some," Kururu said, "Sometimes I would still be working in my lab and you'd go there and watch me work. I then would put you back in your bed when you fell asleep." Kururu continued, telling Horuru all sorts of things about when she was young. Horuru listened… he remembered all this stuff from years ago? Soon he ended his story and said she must go to bed. Horuru nodded, slightly sad for it to end but did as she was told and settle down.  
"Good night, Kururu-senpai," Horuru whispered.  
"Good night, Horuru-chan," Kururu muttered back.  
She then fell asleep.


	4. Preparations and Confessions

"No."  
Keruru reeled back at Horuru's sharp tone, taking her hand away from the plate of newly baked cupcakes.  
It had been a few weeks since the Keroro Platoon had first moved in with them. Today was the day of the party and Horuru was finished the last few things. Ginana, Horuru's old friend, had arrived early to help. However, Keruru wasn't helping and always kept trying to steal the food.  
"Keruru, if you try to steal one more thing, I will personally boil you alive," Horuru threatened, but only in a jokey kind of way. Behind her, Ginana gave a little giggle, the flaps of her hat falling over her red cheeks as her head bobbed to her laughter. Horuru smiled, happy to be surrounded by her friend.  
"You're funny…" Ginana muttered before giggling again.  
"Who else is coming?" Horuru asked, only half-interested. She knew the Jololo platoon, the Tarara platoon, the Garuru platoon and Shurara Corps were coming but she wasn't sure who else.  
"Well, Mororo, Pururu, Karara, Chirara, Danana, Rororo, Kiroro… some of Deruru-kun's old military buddies and… oh yeah, Terere-onsha, too," Keruru muttered. There was a heavy groan from Sekiki, who stood in the doorway.  
"Why did you have to invite Terere-yogisha to the party? He's so annoying," she grumbled. Horuru nodded, agreeing with her 'cousin'.  
"Terere-onsha is one of my closest friends. We've known each other since we were so high," Keruru muttered, giving an angry glare at Sekiki.  
"I'm sure he is," Sekiki muttered darkly. She then caught sight of several glass bottles on one of the counters. "Is that-?"  
"Errr…" Keruru ran to hide the bottles but Horuru got there first.  
"Keruru-chan… what is this?" Horuru had several bottles of alcohol.  
"I saw Keruru bringing those in those before," Kururu noted as he came in.  
"YOU TELL TALE!" Keruru yelled, pointing at him accusingly.  
"Ku ku ku~!" the yellow genius merely laughed before grabbing some food and walking off.  
"Keruru-chan, we are not having alcohol at this party," Horuru said firmly. "Doing that we would only be inviting trouble."  
Keruru laughed, unsurely. "Yes, we are. It is an ORDER from your leader."  
"No, we are not."  
Everyone turned to see Deruru standing in the doorway.  
"Erm," Keruru was unsure now.  
"We're not," Deruru said.  
"I agree with Senpai," Horuru muttered.  
"Well actually-" Sekiki started to speak but was silenced but Deruru's angry look, "Yeah, I agree with Nii-chan."  
"B-but…" Keruru then had an idea. She rushed outside of the kitchen. Horuru raised an eyebrow.  
"You better go see what she's up to, Deruru-senpai," Horuru muttered. Deruru nodded but then walked up to Horuru.  
"You okay, Horuru-san?" Deruru asked.  
"Why wouldn't I be?" Horuru asked, smiling.  
"Just checking." Then he walked off. Horuru gave a sigh.  
"You like him."  
Horuru spun round to face Ginana who was grinning.  
"I-I do NOT!" Horuru growled.  
"Don't even try to hide it!" Ginana said grinning even wider.  
"Don't make me tease you about Inene-san," Horuru grumbled, referring to the well-known Colonel who Ginana had a crush on. Ginana blushed.  
"J-just shut up…" she muttered before turning back to the biscuits she was making. There was suddenly shouting outside the room. Horuru gave a heavy sigh.  
"Ginana, do you mind taking care of the biscuits while I go sort those two out?" Horuru asked. Ginana nodded and then Horuru, along with Sekiki, walked out to find Deruru and Keruru arguing with Geruru caught in the middle.  
"Yes we are!" Keruru yelled.  
"No we aren't!" Deruru replied.  
"Erm… may I make a simple suggestio-" Geruru started but was interrupted.  
"NO!"  
Horuru sighed. "Keruru-chan, Deruru-senpai, what is going on?"  
"Keruru tried to bully Geruru-san into agreeing with her," Deruru growled.  
"I did not!" Keruru yelled.  
"You TWO! Stop fighting and started helping with the party food. The guests are going to be here in an hour!" Horuru yelled. The two were silenced and they returned to the kitchen. They were silent at first when preparing the food but soon started laughing as they rushed around, putting all the food on the plates in the living room. After a while, it was almost all done. Horuru watched as Geruru cut the cheese into little blocks, and would laugh in a friendly way every time Geruru checked to make sure each one was the same size. She smiled encouragingly at him before turning back to Deruru who was heating the sausage rolls because Keruru said she had wanted them warm. Keruru was setting out the drinks, alcohol among them. Horuru had allowed TWO bottles, nothing more. Sekiki was cutting up pears and Ginana was peeling the oranges. Horuru smiled to herself when she heard Kururu enter. "Hello, Kururu-senpai."  
"Hello, Horuru-chan," Kururu nodded to her, grinning. Deruru gave an annoyed glare from where he stood. Kururu ignored him and asked, "Do you want some help?"  
"Yes, if you don't mind. Could you weigh some of the ingredients for the icing I'm gonna put on this chocolate cake I'm making?" Horuru asked, passing a list of ingredients that need to be weighed.  
"Sure," Kururu grinned and got to it. Horuru started plucking the leaves off of strawberries but would always give a little glance at Kururu. Oddly, he would always glance back at her and the two would share a smile.  
"I feel a lovey-dovey atmosphere in the room… and for once it isn't Geruru and Keruru," Deruru grumbled. Geruru gave a deep blush which made his skin orange. Keruru obviously didn't hear because she just kept skipping about.  
"Well, of course, Deruru. Horuru LOVES Kururu!" Sekiki said, a bit too loudly. Kururu turned round from what he was doing and looked at Sekiki… them Horuru who was blushing.  
"You love me?" Kururu grumbled, giving a strange look at Horuru.  
"Errr! I need to go to the bathroom!" Horuru said, running off. She ran into the bathroom and shut the door, sitting on the edge of the bathtub, blushing a deep purple. There was a knock at the door.  
"It's me," Horuru heard Kururu's voice.  
"Errr… don't come in!" But it was too late because Kururu had already opened the door and was standing above Horuru.  
"… K…. Kururu-senpai… I…" Horuru was blushing deeply. "I'm sorry…"  
"Sorry for what?" Kururu said, looking at her weirdly. "I'm not mad that you like me or disgusted or whatever… Just… well, confused." He sat on the edge of the bathtub next to her.  
"Confused?" Horuru asked, getting a bit confused herself.  
"Yeah… like… why did you choose to have a crush on me?" Kururu muttered. Horuru blushed.  
"Dude, have you seen yourself?" Horuru almost yelled. She managed to keep her voice down.  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Kururu asked, even more confused.  
"Well… your kind of… handsome…" Horuru and Kururu blushed at the same time, "And I feel as if you're the only person who understands me." There was a silence.  
"Oddly… I feel the same way…" Kururu muttered. The two sat in silence. Before Kururu said, "Come on, let's go finish making the food."  
"Okay…" Horuru muttered. Just as they were about to leave, Horuru asked, "So Kururu, you don't have a problem with it?"  
"No… Not at all," Kururu smiled at Horuru before leaving Horuru, blushing bright purple.


	5. A Party to Remember

"What the hell is she doing?"  
"I think she's dancing."  
"She looks more like she been shot and is slowly dying."  
"I'D like to shoot her, given what an ass she's being."  
That was Horuru and Deruru talking. They hadn't liked the Christmas party idea to begin with and now it was actually happening, they wished they had made more of an attempt to stop it. Keruru had thrown herself into it straight away and was dancing like crazy… or was meant to be dancing.  
"I think she's drunk…" Horuru said, staring at the odd crazy combination of movements Keruru was doing.  
"You wouldn't be wrong," Deruru muttered. Keruru had insisted on alcohol, even though Deruru, along with Horuru and Dororo, had strongly said no. In the end, Keroro had bought some and now the party was complete… completely ruined, that is.  
"I swear… who does she think she is?" Horuru grumbled. Deruru just gave a low grunt. He didn't seem to be paying attention to Keruru anymore. Horuru followed his gaze… and her jaw dropped.  
"Oh… my… God…!" The one who said that was Horuru, the one who they were gawping at was Sekiki who dancing even more madly than Keruru. But it wasn't her dance Horuru was so shocked at, it was WHO she was dancing WITH. "Poor Keruru! No wonder she's got herself so drunk!" the reason Horuru said this was because Sekiki was dancing with Terere, Keruru's childhood friend. It was a well known fact that Keruru really liked him and so to see Terere with someone else was a major insult to Keruru. Horuru didn't even know Terere that much and the fact he was so loud and hyper made Horuru very wary of him which was possibly why she hadn't been incredibly thrilled when Keruru had told them he was invited. Keruru had obviously wanted to dance with Terere herself but now…  
"I'd like to take a swing at him," Deruru growled hatefully.  
"Why? Terere hasn't done anything."  
"He's obviously gotten poor Sekiki drunk so he can dance with her. How low can you get?"  
"I don't think it was Terere who got Sekiki drunk, Deruru-kun."  
"Oh yeah? Sekiki hasn't drunk any alcohol since that party ages ago."  
"Oh god… Not THAT party," the party Horuru was referring to had been the birthday of Rororo, who was Sekiki and Deruru's older brother. Rororo had bought A LOT of beer for that party and Sekiki had got very drunk. Deruru had banned her from drinking ever since. Horuru snapped out of this train of thought when she noticed Deruru was walking towards Terere, an angry expression on his face. Horuru ran after him. "Deruru, don't do anything rash!" Horuru called but Deruru wasn't listening. Horuru stopped and stared at him as he barged past several dancing people.  
"Ku ku ku~! What's happening now, Horuru-chan?"  
Horuru turned to see Kururu by her side. "Oh… Deruru just got angry because he saw his sister dancing with Terere. Now he's accused him of getting her drunk and has gone off to sort him out," Horuru tried to sound like she didn't care… but she did. Oh god… what if Terere really DID get Sekiki drunk? "I think I should go and follow him in case he does something stupid."  
"I'll come with," Kururu muttered, giving a little nod. Horuru nodded thankfully, not wanting to go into this mess alone, and the two ran after the red Keronian. She passed Geruru on the way and decided it was best to tell him. He didn't seem to be doing much anyway… he was just standing unsurely in the middle of the dance floor.  
"Hey, Horuru-san," Geruru muttered, unsurely. "Where you going?"  
"Terere is over there with Sekiki and Deruru is getting angry because he thinks he made her drunk," Horuru explained, "Come with, we need some support here in case a fight starts." She grabbed the arms of both the yellow Keronians and pulled them with her. Geruru acted like this was a bad idea but was secretly glad to be included. Deruru was already talking to Terere who was clinging onto Sekiki's arm, not looking a bit bothered about Deruru's lecture.  
"That's my SISTER! Don't you dare say I'm overreacting! DON'T YOU DARE!" Deruru growled. Sekiki didn't seem to know what was going on, possibly because she was incredibly drunk. Horuru had a feeling that if she did, she'd be screaming at Terere for the same reasons Deruru was.  
"Listen, Terere-san," Horuru said, letting go of Geruru and Kururu and walking up the arguing Keronians, "You really shouldn't have got Sekiki drunk. So could you please give Sekiki to us?" She was trying not to side, not wanting a fight to break out. She looked at the others for back-up. Geruru came over and nodded.  
"Shut up! This is none of your business, Horuru-kohai," Terere growled, swatting at the two kerons. Horuru flinched at his insult.  
"You should REALLY do as she says," Kururu muttered in a dark voice, as he walked over. Seeing the infamous keron approach him with such danger in his tone made Terere falter, his grip loosening on Sekiki's arm. Horuru walked up to Sekiki and tries to tug her away from Terere.  
"You okay?" Horuru whispered to Sekiki who nodded tiredly.  
"Get off!" Terere yelled, growling at Horuru.  
"Terere?" Everyone turned to see Keruru looking confused and pale at them. "Guys, what going on?"  
"Keruru…" Horuru felt really worried. If she discovered that Terere had abandoned her to be with Sekiki she'd-  
"Go away, this is none of your business," Terere grumbled but he had a guilty glint in his eyes. Horuru tried to pull Sekiki away again but this time, Terere got angry. "GET LOST!" he yelled, aiming a hard punch at Horuru. It hit her hard against the cheek, causing her to fall over to the ground. She heard a gasp.  
"Horuru!" she could see Sekiki rushing to her side and she heard the music stop and sensed everyone was looking at her. Her cheek was hurting so much… throbbing badly. Her vision blackened slightly as he the room seemed to spin.  
"Oh, you really, really shouldn't have done that," Kururu said in a menacing voice. He stepped closer to Terere who was looking a bit shocked after hitting Horuru.  
"Well done, Terere… You've just gave me a good reason to knock your head off…" Deruru muttered. There was a smacking sound. Horuru blacked out.

Horuru awoke in the emergency room. The white hospital-coloured walls were so bright in the light that Horuru had to shield her eyes. As she uncovered her eyes, she found herself looking at Pururu, the Keroro Platoon's medic.  
"Ah, you're awake," Pururu gave a small smile.  
"Kangochou-san?" Horuru said weakly.  
"Yes, it's me."  
Horuru nodded at the medic before giving a heavy groan. "Wh-what happened?"  
"Terere hit you, remember?" Pururu said. Horuru nodded.  
"What about Seki-chan? Is she okay?" Horuru asked.  
"Why don't you ask me yourself?"  
Horuru turned to look as Sekiki, along with Geruru, walked into the room.  
"Sekiki, are you alright?" Horuru asked, getting up to look at her 'cousin'.  
"Yes, yes, I'm perfectly fine," Sekiki nodded, "Horu-chan, I am SO sorry! I really wished I hadn't gotten you into that mess. I wish I hadn't gotten ANYONE into it. How could have I been so foolish?"  
"Seki-chan, it wasn't your fault. It was all Terere's," Horuru reassured her friend, "By the way, what happened to him?"  
"Well," an evil grin crawled over Sekiki's face, "Let's just say that Terere-san is in A LOT of trouble!" She noticed Horuru's questioning look. "Basically, after you got hit, Deruru got really pissed off. Kururu too. The two started beating up Terere like crazy. I almost feel sorry for the guy."  
"I'm sorry, Horuru-san, that I didn't help you out more when we were arguing with Terere," Geruru apologized.  
"I forgive you. Besides, it was my fault for including you in that," Horuru said, smiling. "How long was I knocked out for?"  
"Only two hours," Pururu confirmed as she started to walk out.  
"Boy, my parents must be really worried," Horuru muttered.  
"You bet they are," Sekiki grumbled, "I think Dororo wanted to hit Terere too. I wish he had."  
"Did Terere… you know… do anything to you?" Horuru asked. Sekiki burst out laughing.  
"No way! I would have killed him if he had even tried!"  
"Yeah…" Horuru muttered. "What about Keruru? Is she really upset?"  
"Yes, but I think she's gone off him," Sekiki said.  
"I feel so foolish," Horuru muttered, "I should have stood up for myself more… I shouldn't have fainted at such a small hit."  
"SMALL hit? Horuru, that bruise is taking up most of your FACE!" Sekiki yelled, "And it's really dark-colored! That was no small hit."  
"Yes but still… I feel like a weak little girly person," Horuru sighed sadly.  
"You? Girly? Horuru, you're the most feminist tomboy I have ever met," Sekiki rolled her eyes, "Well, except for me, of course!" Sekiki gave a little pose and Horuru giggled.  
"Ku ku ku~!" Horuru swung her head round to face Kururu and Deruru who were standing in the doorway. Terere was behind them, looking very scared and frightened. "Well, ain't that sweet?" Kururu's grin was really wide.  
"Hey, dudes," Horuru said, smiling until she noticed Terere. The green keronian walked towards her.  
"Well, Terere-KOHAI, have you got something you would like to say?" Kururu chuckled evilly.  
"Gomenasai, Horuru-san, for hitting you before. I just lost control but still, it was a terrible thing to do and I will never do it again," Terere muttered.  
"And?" Kururu prompted.  
Terere sighed, "And I'm sorry for calling you '-kohai'. That was very disrespectful and rude, as well."  
Horuru gave a little smile, "Apology accepted." Terere nodded before running off.  
"He doesn't disserve it, you know," Deruru growled, a horrible frown on his face, "You shouldn't have forgiven him so quickly. In fact, you should have made him beg for forgiveness."  
"Yeah but holding grudges won't help anyone. Plus, he is our medic," Horuru said, "And I'm pretty sure he meant it."  
"You're way too soft and forgiving sometimes," Deruru muttered but he smiled.  
"… erm…Thank you?" They all burst out laughing at Horuru's answer. They then heard someone else enter and they turned to see Keruru.  
"Keruru-chan?" Horuru said, staring at the shy-looking keronian. Keruru was hardly ever shy… she must be quite upset.  
"Are you okay?" Keruru asked. Horuru nodded.  
"You?" she asked.  
"No… not really…" Tears streamed down Keruru's face. Horuru bent forwards and gave Keruru a warm hug. "Forget him. There are plenty of guys who would like a hyper yet leader-like girl like you."  
"Oh, Horuru-chan! I'm so sorry you got punched!" Keruru started crying all over Horuru.  
"Cheer up, it's the Christmas holidays!" Horuru laughed and Keruru gave a small smile, breaking her and Horuru's embrace.  
"You okay? You don't hurt too much?" Keruru asked.  
"No. But I feel tired," Horuru muttered.  
Pururu came over, "You should get some rest. You'll be out of here tomorrow."  
"Okay, Kangochou-san," Horuru nodded. Everybody started to leave. Deruru was the only one left. He smiled at Horuru.  
"Thanks for helping with Terere before, Horuru-san. I'm sorry you got hurt and everything," Deruru said.  
"Naw, I'm fine."  
Deruru smiled. Before he left, he walked up to Horuru and planted a small kiss on her bruised cheek. Horuru thought it would hurt but it felt quite soothing. As Deruru left the room, Horuru blushed bright purple.


	6. Reunion with the Tarara Platoon

Horuru felt oddly… at home as she entered the ship of the Tarara platoon. To see her old school friends again would bring happiness to her heart. As she entered the ship, she became aware of familiar sights and smells. "Tarara?" she called into the ship. She waited. No reply. She knew Tarara was expecting her but she wasn't here. "Tarara?" Again, no reply. Maybe they were out? She turned to leave when she heard a familiar sound.  
"Horuru-chan?"  
Horuru turned round to see the white tadpole keronian who she had known for a while. Tarara was white with a grey mask. Her symbol was a lightning bolt which matched her name: Tarara coming from the word 'Taran' which was Welsh for lightning.  
"Horuru!" Tarara yelled with joy as she glomped her friend. Horuru laughed nervously as she sweatdropped but guessed it couldn't be helped. The two hadn't seen each other in months and now it was Christmas. Seeing Horuru was probably Tarara's best Christmas present this year. Horuru pulled away from Tarara, smiling. Tarara returned it… until she saw the bruise on Horuru's cheek. It had been a few days since the party and the bruise was slowly healing. It was a light blue, only one shade darker than Horuru's skin. "What happened to you? Did your platoon get into a fight?"  
"No," Horuru said, "Something happened at my platoon's Christmas party… don't ask." Tarara nodded, as if she understood.  
"Sorry I couldn't come to the party. There were… complications," Tarara muttered. "But I will invite you to our Christmas party if you like. We're planning on having it the night before Christmas Eve."  
"Maybe. I'm not sure if I'm up for it, after the last one… but maybe," Horuru's words were met by an odd silence. Then there was a yell.  
"Hanana! That is not a frying pan!" a familiar female voice yelled from inside the ship. Tarara and Horuru sweatdropped.  
"Sorry. It's lunch time and I left Rakaka and Hanana in charge of cooking because I was busy," Tarara giggled nervously. Obviously, it was troubled times for her platoon. "Come on, let's go sort them out." Tarara lead them to the kitchen, Horuru getting a scared feeling as she followed. The kitchen was a small room. Within it, Horuru saw her old friends Hanana and Rakaka.  
"Guys, look whose here!" Tarara called to them. The two tadpoles turned… and glomped Horuru in the same way Tarara just had.  
"Why does everyone keep doing that!?" Horuru yelled, frustrated.  
"We're just so happy to see you, I guess," Tarara muttered. Something…. DARK was in her voice.  
"Where's Jakaka and Wilala?" Horuru asked, pushing the two giggling girls off of her.  
"Jakaka's at the computer. Wilala is helping him," Tarara said.  
"I thought YOU were the intelligence in the platoon," Horuru raised an invisible brow. Tarara gave a sigh.  
"I was… until JADEDE joined," Tarara muttered, her voice a bare croak. Horuru stopped.  
"Ja… JADEDE?!" Horuru remembered the clingy friend-stealing keronian well. Since Jadede had come to military school, Tarara had become separate from the rest. On the day of the graduation, Jadede had been put into a completely different platoon to her 'friend'. The Tarara platoon and Horuru had thought they had seen the last of her… obviously not. "What is she doing here? Wasn't she in a different platoon?"  
"Yes. But then she got moved up a rank in her platoon and the Keron Army decided she would make a better leader than me so she was moved here. And I got moved down a rank. I am no longer the leader, the intelligence or a Sergeant. I got moved down to third class private."

Meanwhile, in the space super market, Sekiki and Deruru had come to go on a special Christmas shopping spree with their other two siblings, their oldest brother Rororo and their youngest brother Kiroro. While waiting for them, Sekiki and Deruru were comparing what they were going to buy the members of the platoon so they didn't accidentally get the same thing for the same member. "I'm gonna buy some shurikens for Geruru, a new ipod for Keruru and… what should I get for Horuru?" Deruru asked, knowing that Sekiki would know better.  
"Well, I'm getting her a video game. You could get her a new set of pencils and a new notebook," Sekiki said. Deruru nodded, writing that down. "I'm getting Keruru a candy floss make and Geruru a black cape so he can look like a awesome ninja… I'm not sure what to get for Uncle Giroro," Sekiki muttered. "What are you getting Rororo and Kiroro?"  
"I'm getting Rororo a lighter and-"  
"THAT'S WHAT I WAS GETTING HIM!"  
The two stared at each other.  
"Fine, I'll get him a manga…" Sekiki muttered. This was going to be a long shop.

"Third Class Private!? Why!?" Horuru stared at Tarara. How could she be moved down so lowly?  
"What about me? I got moved down to fourth class!" Hanana complained but no one was really listening to her.  
"I don't know but that's what the army ordered. After Jadede was made leader, she removed me from being the intelligence and made me do the cooking and cleaning. Rakaka and Hanana became the ship's fighters. Now, Jakaka drives the ship and Wilala is intelligence," Tarara explained, her voice becoming sadder with each word. "As well as that, we aren't able to talk to the boys. Jadede keeps saying that we are merely maids and we shouldn't distract the others. I can only speak to Wilala at night because we share a room. And Jakaka… I've hardly even SEEN him since Jadede took over, let alone talked to him."  
"But isn't Hanana meant to be the medic of this ship?" Horuru said.  
"No point in having a medic if we never get injured. Before Jadede joined, we were making good progress with the invasion of a nearby planet. Now, she never lets us leave the ship or communicate with others. Our progress has decreased and we have been forced to retreat. Jadede says that it doesn't matter. She says she has big plans for us, says she's going to make us the best platoon ever. Says we're going to invade Pekopon," Tarara was becoming shaky.  
"That's CRAZY! No one has been able to take over Pekopon before!" Horuru gasped.  
"That won't stop Jadede," Tarara muttered.  
"Tarara Cantohei! WHERE ARE YOU!?" Jadede's voice ran clear across the hall. Tarara shuddered. Horuru stared at her old friend… this wasn't the strong-minded Tarara who had beaten up Jamimi back in Military school. The grey keronian came into the kitchen… and glared at Horuru. A silence of pure hatred filled the room…

"LOOK AT ALL THE TOYS!" Kiroro was drooling over the toyshop shelves. Sekiki sighed. Her younger brother had been like this ever since he had first came. The younger keronians had broken away from their older brothers and had gone separate ways to do the shopping. That's when she saw it… the game she knew Horuru wanted… she was going to get it.

"YOU!" Horuru growled.  
"What are is SHE doing on my ship, Tarara-chan?" Jadede growled. Horuru felt her blood boil red. How could she address Tarara so casually, as if they had a friendship?  
"She came to see us. She's our friend, you know!" Rakaka growled. The brown gothic keron was getting annoyed with their 'leader'.  
"Shut up, Rakaka Gocho!" Jadede growled. "Fine… you can stay… but NOT TOO LONG!" And with that, Jadede walked off, back to the computer room. Horuru waited until it was safe to ask questions.  
"So… what else has changed since Jadede joined?" Horuru asked.  
"It's been terrible. I've been doing all the chores and Jadede still acts if we're friends. Rakaka has become…" Tarara stopped to look at her friend who was still growling, "Well… she's changed. She is more aggressive since becoming one of the main fighters of the ship… I don't think she even cares about us anymore. Ages ago, she would have protected us, Hanana especially, if someone tried to hurt us. Now she doesn't seem to care… Hanana has been whipped a lot of the time and pushed about and Rakaka doesn't answer her calls for help at all now. Hanana herself has become extremely shy. She wasn't meant to be a fighter. She became a medic for a reason. Now, she has to fight and doesn't know how… and it doesn't help that Rakaka has started pushing her about too. Rakaka is always yelling at her…" Tarara's malteser-brown eyes watered with tears as she spoke.  
"What about Jakaka and Wilala?" Horuru asked.  
"Not much better on their end. Wilala says that Jadede is an impatient bitch who won't let him take a rest. Some days, he's not even allowed to come and eat lunch with us because she keeps him so busy. He is worked too late on nights and is getting more tired everyday. I haven't spoken to Jakaka, as I said, but according to Walala he's become very withdrawn and quiet like… like an empty shell. He's lost his sense of humour and never smiles or even says a word. Occasionally he'll speak but only short sentences… and always says them in a harsh tone, according to Wilala. I guess he's become very bitter from so much slave labour. Maybe you can get through to him since you're an old friend of his," Tarara said, hopefully. "Please, Horuru. We need your help."

Sekiki and Kiroro met up with their brothers in the café and ordered lunch.  
"So…" Deruru muttered, "Why didn't we ask Horuru and the others to come along?"  
"Well, Horuru said she already had our presents and anyway, she's going to see some old school friends," Sekiki said.  
"Okay," Deruru smiled, "I wonder how she is right now."

"If we get caught because of you, Hanana, I'm telling," Rakaka muttered. Her tone was quite jokey. Horuru was happy to see the two interacting the way they had used to. Maybe there was hope for the Tarara platoon yet. Tarara obviously was happy that they were getting on with each other again too because her eyes became even more watery than before… but with tears of joy instead of tears of misery.  
"But seriously, I think it's a bit risky to go all the way to the computer room just to let Horuru say 'Hello' to the fellas. Why exactly are we doing this again, Taichou-san?" Rakaka muttered. Everyone stared at her as she referred to Tarara as Taichou which was Japanese for 'leader'. "Sorry… It's just… soon we might be able to get rid of Jadede-kohai and Tarara will be leader again! It will be like the old days… well… sort of…" Rakaka looked at Horuru with an odd look. "It COULD be like the old days if Horuru says it's okay." Horuru knew what she meant.  
"I would love to join you guys… but… I'm too loyal to the Keruru Platoon…" Horuru muttered, sadly. It was odd… Horuru had been put into the Keruru Platoon against her will by Keruru on the day of graduation. Horuru had been planning to join her friends Ginana, Jololo, Lelulu and Samimi in a platoon but Keruru had chosen Horuru first. It had been sad but Horuru had forgiven Keruru and promised to stay in contact with her friends of the Jololo platoon. She hadn't been planning to join the Tarara platoon though… but the thought of becoming a member was oddly making her warm inside… still… did she really want to leave her friends? She had known the Keruru members before hand but they had grown even closer when in a platoon together… especially her and Deruru. Rakaka looked disappointed but nodded. She understood loyalty like anyone would.  
"It must be nice… having a leader you can feel so loyal to and be able to speak with your members freely… I almost forget what that was like… it feels like an age since Tarara was our leader and I actually LOVED being a member of this platoon…" Rakaka sighed. Soon, they made it to the computer room. Wilala was typing at his computer. Horuru noticed he had black bags under his eyes. Jakaka was watching him, standing like a statue.  
"Jakaka-san! Wilala-kun!" Horuru shouted. The two boys turned around… and smiled for the first time in months.  
"Horuru-chan! Is that you?" Jakaka said, gripping Horuru in a big bear hug. Horuru sweatdropped.  
"Okay, big fella, you can let go now…" Horuru said as Jakaka started crying on her. "Seriously, dude, don't make me hurt you." Jakaka released her. Wilala merely smiled but didn't speak… which is good because it looked like if he had spoken he would have pulled out a smart-ass comment from the way he was smirking.  
"SO… what brings you here?" Jakaka asked.  
"Horuru is going to help us get rid of queen bitch!" Rakaka said, grinning.  
"Rakaka, there are children present!" Wilala joked but not unkindly, as he pointed a at frowning Hanana.  
"I'm afraid I can't do anything straight away… I'll try after Christmas," Horuru muttered. The platoon looked sad but they nodded. "I better go now or Jadede will become suspicious." Waving good bye to her friends, she departed the ship… now she knew she would have to attend the Tarara platoon's Christmas party.


	7. Horuru Vs Jadede

Horuru grumbled to herself as she got changed. Why was she doing this? She had already told Tarara she probably wasn't coming to her Christmas party… so why had she changed her mind? Well… now that Jadede was in-charge of the Tarara platoon, Horuru had to make sure Jadede didn't wreck anymore of the platoon's friendships or something like that. However, some problems had aroused: For one thing, the Keruru platoon had decided to come with her although she had already explained this was HER business. As well as that, Horuru had found out something else when she read the invitation: It was fancy-dress. But it was okay, Horuru and the platoon had already came up with costumes: They were going as the characters from Shugo Chara. Horuru was going as Miki, Keruru as Ran, Sekiki as Suu, Deruru as Daichi and Geruru as Kiseki. Kururu had also agreed to come and said he too was going as a Shugo Chara character. He was gonna be Yoru. It was the day of the party, the day before Christmas Eve and Horuru was dressing up. She had dyed her hair blue and had put on blue clothes which looked nice with the colour of her skin. Keruru was wearing a pink sports outfit and had tied her hair into a pony tail. Geruru had blushed when he had sawn her. Sekiki was extremely adorable: Hair dyed blond and wearing a green maid's outfit. Geruru had been against dying his hair so he had bought a purple wig and put a crown on top of it before putting on his king outfit. Deruru also looked adorable with his green wig and sports outfit. But the person who blew Horuru away the most was Kururu: dressed in a black T with a silver cross on it and wearing a fake cat tail, huge black cat-paw gloves and a blue wig with cat ears sticking out. He had even taken off his glasses and put in contacts so he could see which was good because his natural eye colour was the same shade as Yoru's.  
"Oh… my… god…" Horuru said, staring at him as he came out. "You look… awesome, dude."  
"Thanks," Kururu gave a huge grin, "You look quite pretty too…" Horuru merely blushed.

On the Tarara Platoon- No sorry, Jadede Platoon-'s ship, Horuru found herself sitting in the corner and watching the people dance crazily. She felt some serious memories stirring in her head from the party before… when Terere had punched her. She sighed, snatching some sausage rolls from a nearby table and eating them slowly.  
"Hey, Horuru."  
Horuru jumped… but then realised it was only Tarara. Tarara had dressed up as Misty from pokemon, tying her messy strawberry-blonde hair into a sideways ponytail. She looked odd but pretty.  
"Hello, Tarara-chan," Horuru muttered. She felt oddly sick… and it wasn't the sausage rolls.  
"What is it?" Tarara asked, sitting next to her.  
"it's just… I know it's almost Christmas and I SHOULD be happy but… something… something's missing…" Horuru sighed. "I think it has something to do with-"  
"Tarara!" a voice yelled. Horuru and Tarara recognised that bitchy-sounding voice.  
"Jadede…" Tarara and Horuru said at the same time. They watched as the clingy friend-stealer walked up to them through the dancing crowd. Jadede was dressed as an angel which was extremely ironic. Horuru felt her blood boil as she KNEW what would happen next.  
"Tarara, why aren't you dancing?" Jadede said, "Go out there and act like a true hostess." Tarara was about to object but what was the point? She quickly left, leaving Jadede smirking at the shy Horuru. "Too bad, eh, Horuru? You had your chance to be a member of this platoon but in the end you decided to join those losers you call 'subordinates'. So sad… But this is MY platoon now. I'm not going to let YOU get in between me and my friends." Jadede gave one last false smile before turning around… but before she could get a step forward, Horuru snapped.  
"Whatever, bitch," Horuru muttered, shrugging as it was no big deal. Jadede spun round.  
"What did you call me?" Jadede said.  
"Nothing. You must have been hearing things," Horuru said simply. Jadede leaned close to Horuru, snarling.  
"You think you're funny, don't you? Well, you're not. I'm your superior officer.'  
"But, like you said, I'm not a member of the Tarara platoon," Horuru said, her voice staying emotionless and cold.  
"JADEDE platoon. I'm the leader now. I'm a sergeant now so just shut it!" Jadede growled… was that fear in her voice?  
"This will never be YOUR platoon, Jadede, because you are not a good leader…" Horuru said. Jadede growled and aimed a punch at Horuru.  
"SHUT UP!" she howled but Horuru merely side-stepped her attack. Being punched by Terere was one thing… but Jadede was a whiny brat who needed to be put in her place. This was Horuru's fight. She couldn't afford to wimp-out this time.  
"You're a tyrant, Jadede… nobody likes a tyrant… or a bitch for that matter," Horuru said. Jadede felt tears of anger and hatred burn in her dark teal eyes.  
"I won't loose to you… I'm never going to loose to you! I will become the leader of the best platoon ever! NOBODY is going to stand in my way! ESPECIALLY not you, Horuru-kohai!" Jadede growled, showing of her true colours at last. Horuru didn't flinch, even when being called Kohai. It was the same thing Terere had called her… but this time she didn't feel weak. She felt strong.  
"I've learnt a lot from Keruru when it comes to being a leader. It's all about fighting for what is right and treating those who follow you as family…" Horuru said, her voice never faltering.  
"How would YOU know? You are not a leader!" Jadede screamed. Some people starting turning to face the argument.  
"Yes… but then again, neither are you," Horuru said.  
"I AM! Sure, the keron army never MADE me a leader but the Tarara platoon was too STUPID to-" Jadede was cut off.  
"I knew that bitch was faking it! I knew it!" Hanana's voice howled as the music was turned off. "I knew the keron army wasn't cruel enough to make her the leader! I knew it!"  
"Hanana, calm down!" Tarara muttered as she came to the front of the crowd. "So…" she stared at Jadede with her malteser brown eyes, "The keron army didn't make you the leader… Hmmm… I never believed it at first but now…" a wicked grin appeared over Tarara's face. "What was that about us being stupid, Jadede-TAICHOU?" she asked, mockingly. Jadede put her head down. She had been defeated… not just by Horuru and the Tarara platoon… but her own selfish pride… how ironic.

The party had ended with Jadede being taken back to Planet Kero to try and explain herself to the Keron army. Horuru felt a bit of joy in her heart.  
"Well… with Jadede gone I suppose it's back to being a leader for you Tarara?" Horuru asked her friend. Tarara nodded, smiling.  
"We're going back to that planet we were at before and we will conquer it. And it will be our first planet of many to come," Jadede sighed with happiness.  
"Looks like you're going to be rivalling me and the Keruru platoon, eh?" Horuru said, smiling.  
"Maybe… unless…" Tarara looked hopefully at Horuru. Horuru sighed, shaking her head.  
"Like I said… I am too loyal to the Keruru platoon…" Horuru said.  
"I know… but I want you to know that you can always join us if things don't work out," Tarara assured Horuru as Horuru and her friends started to exit the ship.  
"Okay… Good bye, Tarara-chan!" Horuru said, waving as they exited. Horuru smiled to herself… things looked a bit better from now on.


	8. All I want for Christmas

Horuru looked at the tree that she and the rest of the platoon had just decorated. It was so beautiful… though she had no idea why there was a plastic spider on it. She frowned but smiled. It was the night of Christmas eve before Christmas and she was excited she put her presents under the tree. She walked to bed, hoping for many surprises next day.

Horuru woke up the next morning with the feeling that her head was being split apart. "Ow…"  
"You okay?" Kururu asked. He was typing busily on his laptop.  
"Dude, did you sleep at all last night?" Horuru muttered.  
"Yep… I just woke up early to type some things," Kururu muttered.  
Cue big surprise number 1.  
"HORURU! GUESS WHAT! IT'S CHRISTMAS!" Sekiki yelled as she ran into the room and rugby tackled her friend.  
"Sekiki… get off," Horuru muttered.

After managing to prise her shaking friend off of her, the platoons headed into the living room where thousands of presents could be seen under the tree. They all excitedly grabbed their presents. They tore of the wrapping and saw many interesting presents. Horuru was happy when Keruru and Sekiki liked their munchlax toys. Keruru's was a munchlax with a star patch over one eye. Sekiki's was a purple munchlax with red eyes and a skull patch. Both seemed to like them.  
"Here," Deruru said. He handed Horuru a small present… Horuru unwrapped it and inside was a new sketch book with a little grey cat on it.  
"THANK YOU!" Horuru said, giving Deruru a big hug. She gave Deruru his present which was a shooter game and he thanked her. Kururu seemed to like his gift: a computer game about a mad scientist. Everyone liked there gifts and Horuru smiled as she prepared them Christmas dinner. That's when Deruru came over.  
"Hey, Horuru? Want some help?" he asked. Horuru nodded. There was suddenly a burst of laughter from the living room. Horuru went to see what happened.  
Cue big surprised number 2.  
Keruru and Geruru was kissing… under the mistletoe. Horuru stared.  
"That… is weird," Horuru muttered, before heading back to the kitchen.  
Cue big surprised number 3.  
Just as Horuru was going into the kitchen, Deruru turned Horuru around her and gave her a big kiss on the lips. Horuru stared… but it felt nice. When the two finally broke apart, Deruru was blushing.  
"Sorry…" he muttered. Horuru stared at him.  
"Okay… what possessed you?" she muttered.  
"Horuru… I… I THINK I'm IN LOVE WITH YOU!" Deruru yelled. Horuru stared.  
"Same…" she muttered and the two kissed each other.

The end.  
Have a merry Christmas!


End file.
